Walter's Thoughts at the end of Crossroads (S1E20)
by Scorpfan4
Summary: The story begins with Walter's thoughts as he approaches Paige's apartment complex and observes the mother-son duo through the apartment window; post S1E20 'Crossroads'. This is my first fan-fiction.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfiction story. It begins at the end of S1E20 'Crossroads' with Walter's thoughts as he looks on at Paige and Ralph through their apartment window. I wrote this a while back during season one, but with school and all I never got around to publishing it. I am thinking about writing a multi-chapter story this summer but I wanted to post this one-shot first to see what people thought of my writing style. Please read and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Scorpion.**

As Walter observed Paige and Ralph through the apartment window, only one word came to mind: 'family'. He made a mental note to add in a drawing of Ralph to Toby's stick figure depiction back at the garage.

Yielding to the behaviorist's advice, Walter was finally ready to confront his feelings for Paige and express to the young mother how he felt. But, he couldn't tear his eyes away as he watched Paige and Ralph, both with bright smiles on their faces, interact like any normal mother and son would. Paige and Ralph's relationship had come a long way in the few months he'd known them. This was a moment of sheer bliss for the genius. Suddenly, his calm and peaceful gaze turned into one of disappointment and deep sadness. His eyes grew wide, his subtle smile vanished, and his whole body tensed as he observed the scene unfolding before him. Also present in the apartment was the last man on earth Walter wanted to see at that moment...Drew Baker. Walter swallowed the lump in his throat when Paige placed her hand on Drew's arm as the two parents playfully engaged with their son...It was too late. Toby had told him to take a risk, but now there was no risk to be taken. Drew had beaten him to it and won over the 'cheerleader'. So many thoughts raced through Walter's mind as he stood there, rooted into the ground, unable to move in the slightest. _Why was Drew back from Portland already? Why was he in Paige's apartment? Why did Paige initiate contact with him? Why didn't Paige inform me of Drew's arrival?_ A strange feeling began to brew within him. Walter had never felt this way before. Ever since Drew had returned, Walter acted differently around Paige, but never once did he experience what he felt at this exact moment...envy. He wanted to be the one standing by Paige's side, handing Ralph his dinner. He wanted to be the one who laughed with the love of his life and the boy he cared for so deeply. He couldn't understand where he had gone wrong. Had he done something to push Paige away? Paige had mentioned multiple times that her intimate relationship with Drew was over and that he was merely a father figure in Ralph's life. Based on the scene unfolding before Walter's eyes, he knew what she had said was a lie. During her time at Scorpion, Walter felt that Paige had often toyed with his EQ, carefully playing with his heartstrings, almost as if she were playing a harp. He secretly hoped that one day her playful behavior would turn into something much more serious. But now, Walter found himself questioning the deeper meanings behind every one of his and Paige's intimate moments. Envy, anger, sadness; all these feelings tormented him, sending his EQ into overdrive. Finally, Walter turned his gaze back to the ground, turned around, and slowly walked back to his car. Before opening the driver-side door, he smashed his fist into the mirror, shattering it upon impact. Along with the glass shards, Walter's hope for a life with Paige fell broken to the ground. The pulsing pain in his hand didn't even faze him. It couldn't compare to the emotional torture he was experiencing at that very moment. Without bothering to clean himself up, Walter got into the car, put his keys into the ignition, and sped off, not caring where the night took him.

As Paige sauntered into the kitchen to grab her son a glass of milk, she turned her head just enough to catch the glimpse of a man walking away from her apartment building. She let out a small gasp as she realized who the mysterious man was...Walter O'Brien. _What was he doing here so late at night?!_ She looked on as he slammed the car mirror with his hand and then left the complex as fast as he could. Paige stole a quick glance at Drew and realized that Walter must have seen him. Frozen from pure shock, she breathlessly muttered to herself, "What have I done..."

Back at the garage, Toby was too exhausted to go home, so he decided to crash on his favorite red couch. Even though his relationship with Happy had hit a major roadblock, he was glad that his favorite dumpster fire finally mustered enough courage to reveal his feelings to Paige. As he lay there devising mischievous schemes to squeeze out from Paige every detail of Walter's reveal, the garage door burst open and Toby shot up in pure shock, his hat falling off behind him from the momentum. In stormed a flustered and rather angry Walter O'Brien. _Uh oh…_ Before Toby had a chance to say a single word, the man who claimed to have no feelings was already up the stairs and behind closed doors. _I may have ruined things with Happy but I can still salvage Walt's relationship._ Toby began his assent to Walter's quarters and prepared for the worst.

Having never before been in his current emotional state, the man with an IQ of 197 could not find a solution to his conundrum. The bubbling of his emotions made Walter very uncomfortable. He was Walter O'Brien, genius robot who felt nothing and lived his life according to the greater good principle. Now, he was experiencing a mid-life crisis at the age of 30. The sound of ascending footsteps broke his train of thought as he began wondering who was at the garage so late at night. A fedora-less Tobias Curtis entered the loft and made a beeline for Mr. 197. "Sooooo, how goes it boss?", Toby asked as casually as he could. "Leave me alone", Walter grumbled. Toby let out a deep sigh and decided to dive right in, "You're angry. A rejection from Paige wouldn't make you angry, upset and distraught, yes, but angry, no. My guess is that our favorite minor league pitcher made an appearance and you fled before even speaking one word to Paige." Walter didn't respond. He continued to stare at the ground with the slightest of scowls defining his face. Toby continued, "Talk to her tomorrow…Get some rest now; we had a long day. See ya in the morning 197." With that, the psychiatrist exited Walter's quarters, descended the stairs, and once again crashed on his favorite red couch to get some much needed sleep.

 **I apologize for the anti-climactic ending but I am new to this whole writing thing. Please review and give me your honest thoughts. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. First, thank you to all those who left reviews for my story. I really appreciated what you guys had to say about my first attempt at writing. I have decided to turn my first story into a multi-chapter fanfiction (there will probably be three or four chapters). Here is the second installment. Unlike the first chapter, this one will be more dialogue-heavy. I hope you enjoy it. Please read and review!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Scorpion.**

 _Beep beep beep beep…beep beep beep beep…_

 _Ughhhh._ Not wanting to remove herself from the warmth and comfort of the sheets and comforter, Paige Dineen hesitantly opened her eyes, blew her bangs off her face, and got up from her bed to prepare for the day ahead of her. It was Friday. _Just one more day to endure before the weekend will allow whatever happened last night to slowly fade away and dissipate forever._ Having already taken a shower the night before, Paige quickly brushed her teeth, applied some makeup, and got dressed. Sauntering down the hallway in the direction of the kitchen, Paige noticed that Ralph had already awoken and was perched on the armrest of the living room couch, staring intently at the bare wall in front of him.

"He was here last night", Ralph stated.

Already knowing whom this 'he' was, Paige decided to play along anyway, "Who was here, sweetie?"

Ralph turned to face his mother and answered, "Walter."

Not wanting to lie to her son, Paige replied, "You're right honey, I saw him through the window last night walking to his car. How did you know he was here?"

"I memorized the exact mechanical rasp that the engine of his car emits while running. I heard his Datsun pull up to our apartment complex last night…Why was he here, Mom?", Ralph gazed at his mother with puppy-dog eyes.

Paige let out a sigh, "I'm not sure Ralph, but let's not mention any of this to Walter today. If he wants to explain to us why he drove over here last night, he will. If he doesn't, then we will respect his decision. Now go get your school stuff, we leave for the garage in five minutes."

Ralph hopped off the armrest and sulked to his room. Paige was worried for him. Ralph not only viewed Walter as a mentor, friend and fellow genius, but also as a father, the father he never had. Ralph was always depressed whenever he sensed frustration and conflict in Walter. While Paige never took pleasure in seeing her son in anything but the most joyful of moods, she did find it comforting that Ralph showed signs of empathy. She was determined to prevent him from developing into the stereotypical genius robot. Hopeful that the situation surrounding Walter's mysterious late-night appearance would go away on its own, Paige took to the task of preparing Ralph's lunch before she and her son made their departure for the garage.

It was a quiet start to the morning at the garage. Happy, wanting nothing to do with anyone at the moment, was busily working on her latest gadget. Toby was reading two books simultaneously, as usual. Sensing the awkwardness in the room, Sylvester took to cleaning his desk for the umpteenth time that week. Lastly, there was Walter, who was so engrossed in his rocket that he didn't even notice when the garage door opened and Scorpion's liaison and pet genius entered the building.

"Hey guys," Paige greeted everyone with a bright smile plastered to her face.

Sylvester looked up, adjusted his glasses, and replied, "Good morning Paige, good morning Ralph."

"Miss Dineen, Ralphy boy" Toby tipped his hat.

Happy made no attempt to acknowledge the presence of either Paige or Ralph.

"Where's Walter?", Paige looked around.

Before anyone could reply, Ralph had already taken off into the back of the garage to help Walter with the rocket.

"I believe that answers your question," Toby stated.

Paige set her purse down and followed Ralph deeper into the garage. As she approached the rocket, Paige took time to enjoy the scene unfolding before her very own eyes. As Walter tinkered with the intricacies of the rocket, he spoke to the young genius, coaching him through the process, step-by-step. The focus displayed in each of their eyes was unlike anything Paige had seen before. Part of her wished Ralph could stay at the garage all day and fully immerse himself in genius-caliber work, but she knew that her son needed to experience a balanced lifestyle.

"Ralph, time for school," Paige walked up and placed her hand on her son's shoulder.

"I'd rather stay here and work on the rocket with Walter," Ralph replied without taking his eyes off Walter's quick moving fingers.

"Well, if you come with me right now, a trip to the ice cream shop may be in store for you after school," Paige looked at Ralph with a smirk on her face.

"Scoop swear?", Ralph asked, finally turning to look at his mother.

Paige's smirk turned into a full-blown smile, "Scoop swear."

Walter ruffled the young genius's hair before the boy took off in search of the backpack he haphazardly tossed aside as soon as he stepped foot in the garage.

As Paige turned to follow her son, her boss's voice caught her attention.

"Wait", Walter said with a barely noticeable tremble in his voice.

Paige turned and looked expectantly in the direction of Walter.

"Even though I-I know my employees fa-fairly well, I've undertaken a Scorpion pr-profiling project in order to b-better understand my friends and colleagues," Walter's eyes scanned the room but never once fell on Paige while he talked.

"Umm okay, do you have some questions for me?", Paige asked.

"Just a f-few, it won't take long," Walter replied.

"Hit me," Paige straightened her posture and crossed her arms.

"W-what? N-no, Paige I would never hit you! Why would you say that?" Walter was baffled.

Paige face-palmed, "It's an expression Walter!"

"Oh…", Walter's lips formed a perfect oval.

"Just ask the questions," Paige's voice came out more frustrated than she would have liked.

Sensing the mood shift in their conversation, Walter decided to abort the mission, "Actually, never mind, it really isn't that big of a deal. I-I apologize for h-hindering yours and Ralph's exodus to school. Carry on." With that, Walter flashed Paige a quick, awkward smile and then proceeded to bury his nose in the rocket.

Unsure of how to respond to Walter's fidgety statement/apology/farewell… _what even was that,_ Paige decided to find Ralph and finally leave for school. Before walking outside, however, Paige just had to ask somebody, _is Walter actually conducting a Scorpion employee-profiling project?_

"Hey Toby," Paige waltzed on up to the psychiatrist.

Toby looked up from his books, "You've already said hello to me this morning, so this must be one of those 'heys' that precedes a request."

"Sure, whatever you say, sooooo I was just wondering if Walter mentioned anything to you about a Scorpion employee-profiling project; ring a bell?", Paige asked as she leaned on Toby's desk.

Toby's lips curved up into a smile, "Why, as a matter of fact he has not." Toby's smile continued to grow. "I'd be willing to say that you're the only person Walt has talked to about this Scorpion employee-profiling project", Toby threw up air quotes toward the end of his statement.

"You don't know that," Paige said with a defensive tone.

"Remember Paige, I'm alllllways right," Toby turned his attention back to his books.

"Keep telling yourself that doc," Paige slumped off Toby's desk and began to guide Ralph out of the garage. "Be back in a bit!", she yelled.

The ride to Ralph's school was a quiet one. All the while, Paige could only think of one thing, _why would Water fabricate an employee-profiling project just to ask me a couple questions? What did he desperately want to know?_ Paige began to feel uneasy. The smooth Friday she had hoped for had undertaken a rough beginning.


End file.
